Kyle Petty

Statistics
Petty Enterprises CEO
Driver #45
Born: June 2, 1960
Brithplace: Randleman, NC
Resides: Trinity, NC
Wife: Pattie
Children: Adam, Austin, Montgomery Lee
First Cup Start: Aug. 5, 1979 (Talladega)
First Cup Win: Feb. 23, 1986 (Richmond)
First Cup Pole: Mar. 2, 1990 (Rockingham)
Career Cup wins: 8
Career Cup poles: 8
Best Championship finish: 5th - 1992, 1993
Primary Sponsor: Wells Fargo
Primary Series: Nextel Cup
Team: Petty Enterprises
Make: Dodge
Crew Chief: Paul Andrews

Biography

A winning NASCAR Nextel Cup driver, Petty has also been a winner as a business executive and a community leader.

One of the very few third-generation athletes in American sports, Petty had a variety of options for a career. As a winning athlete in high school, Petty was recruited by several colleges as a scholarship quarterback, while others talked to him about baseball scholarships. A country music career later became an option with more than one Nashville agent saying he had "what it takes" to make it big. But racing remained his first choice.

In 1979, Petty first climbed behind the wheel of a stock car in major competition, visiting Victory Lane in the Daytona ARCA 200-miler -- his first major league competition. Petty drove five NASCAR Nextel Cup races that year, notching the first top-10 of his career. A year later, he started 15 races -- picking up top-10 finishes in six of them -- before running his first full schedule in 1981.

Petty remained with Petty Enterprises until he joined the legendary Wood Brothers for the 1985 season. A year later, he picked up his first career victory at Richmond, Virginia. Petty moved to SABCO in 1990, where he remained until opening PE2 in 1997. At the end of the 1998 season, Petty moved his team back to Level Cross, North Carolina, where two full-time teams now sit under the Petty Enterprises banner.

Petty is also known for his community and charitable work throughout motorsports and the country. In 1998 and 2002, he was named True Value "Man of the Year," and was named NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated's "Person of the Year" in 1999. Both honors were as a direct result of his hundreds of hours in charitable works.

Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America was founded by Petty in 1995 to benefit children's charities across the nation. Many drivers, team members, and others affiliated with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Circuit partake in the ride, visiting children's hospitals and participating in fundraising. More than one hundred riders participate yearly, and have raised over $1.5 million dollars to date.

In early 1998 Petty created an innovative program: the Race to End Hunger. In conjunction with Food Lion, Petty invited fans to bring canned goods or nonperishable food to the Kyle Petty souvenir trailer. In exchange they received a special Race to End Hunger t-shirt. During past crusades, items have been collected at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the North Carolina Speedway, and the Bristol Motor Speedway. Collected non-perishables helped the North Carolina Food Bank, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, and the Bristol Emergency Food Bank provide thousands of meals for people who would have otherwise remained hungry.

Petty also works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Nextel Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary.

As busy as he is, Petty still finds time for the important things in life – spending quality time with family and friends. He also enjoys reading, collecting Elvis memorabilia and riding his Victory Motorcycles.